Capitalism fail.

It’s becoming more clear that the current financial (banking) crisis is being taken advantage of in the same way that Naomi Klein skewers in The Shock Doctrine.

The US “bailout” package that we are constantly told is essential for our survival? It’s a fraud, moving the banks’ bad debt to our backs, via the state. And, as ever, where the US goes, the UK follows:

There’ll be an auction of £40bn of three-month loans next Tuesday, and further weekly auctions – whose size is yet to be determined – till at least 18 November.

This represents a massive increase in the help provided to banks by the Bank of England – and, of course, it means in effect that we as taxpayers are replacing all those funds that banks can’t raise from wholesale markets.

There’s a dearth of anarchist analysis of this whole mess: basically because we haven’t been paying attention to it. It’s ruling class bullshit and mystification aimed at making the rich richer. To know what they’re planning and think about how we should respond, though, we need to know what’s going on. Which makes this audio recording of an educational (from the WSM) absolutely essential (though I admit I haven’t listened to the whole 80 minutes yet). There’s also an article, Financial Weapons of Mass Destruction, on Anarkismo.net.

I get an uncomfortable feeling that we would have been better off working in the City to bring down capitalism, but this seems like a great opportunity to make the anarchist / anti-capitalist message heard by receptive ears. So, what do we do? Start a run on HBOS? 😉